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Aeyis was silent for a time. “Tenah, I’d like to try diving into your mind. I’m curious to see what pieces are missing there too.”
“You think Chaos did that to me?”
“I do. But I think more memories exist than you realize. I’ve glimpsed some before Chaos swells to obscure them from reach.”
Tenah bunched the tulle above her thighs in tight fists. Had Ames tried to uncover them?
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“I’ll do my best to keep the pain at a minimum.”
Her eyes bore into him with disbelief. “I’m not afraid of the pain, Aeyis. I’m afraid of what Chaos will do to you.”
His smile was soft. “I appreciate that, but I haven’t been collecting all of this Chaos for nothing.” He tapped a finger against his temple. “Your little trick in the Boglands gave me inspiration. I anticipate Chaos launching an attack on me when I enter your mind, hopefully giving you the opportunity to retrieve what it hides.”
She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. “We can try.”
Immediately, glacial ribbons of magic blossomed in her mind. She heard a grunt before she was sucked into a foreign memory. She stood in a grand throne room but not in her own body. Swirls of snowy magic hovering over her skin told her everything she needed to know.
Ames had planted this—his own memory—for her to find.
He took in the clusters of nobles with seething animosity, the strength of which shocked her. Such an odd sensation to experience whathewas feeling for once. When he turned his gaze on the raised throne where King Sardoth lounged, a crescendo of hatred boiled in his gut.
A half dozen guards in phoenix-crested armor posted on either side of his gilded chair, and another half dozen robed figures kept a semicircle of polished floor open before him. Miniature storms of Ashen magic surrounded them, no matter the king’s disgust for their kind. He didn’t hesitate to take full advantage of their power.
More guards dragged bound shadows into the room, shoving them to their knees before the king. One by one, Ashens were ordered to melt their minds.
Traitors. The king’s voice rang out above the murmuring crowd.Power-crazed Corrupt.
No, Ames thought.Servants of Equil. My friends.
Beside Ames stood her father, absent of laugh lines and crow’s feet. Ames kept a steady pulse on him. Kept his thoughts shielded from the prying magic of the king’s inner circle. Currently, her father’s mind ran through all the scenarios in which he could kill as many shadows in the throne room as possible, starting with the king.
It was like peeking behind the curtain of what had been plotted that day at the gathering.
Their king kept her mother for last, granted a trial upon Kherathi’s insistence. Ames struggled to grasp onto Sardoth’s true intentions. Sneaking through a winter storm of six trained Ashens proved difficult even for his skill.
A heaving sickness overtook Tenah’s body. Her knees hit the floor of the archives, but her mind was still rooted deep in Ames’s recollections.
It was astonishing how little she actually remembered of her mother. The woman pushed to the floor had waves of dark blue hair, skin a beautiful shade of light brown, and the most captivating aura.
She radiated life.
And yet, Avora Delemor had come to terms with her fate. She did not bow or plead as Tenah had in death’s grip. Her chin remained notched high, where others had trembled.
Something stronger than admiration spread through Ames.
Tread carefully, old friend, he warned Kherathi, whose popping knuckles had him on edge.
The king leaned forward.You wound me, Kherathi.I have provided you with a life others can only dream of. A title bearing land and fortune. A reputation as one of the most feared and decorated shadows in the kingdom. Is it wrong of me to expect a timely response to my request for your services in these trying times against the Corrupt Ashen queen?
Kherathi strode forward, breaking from the wall of spectating nobility.I meant no offense. However, I did respond. It just wasn’t the answer you wanted to hear. Now, you drag my wife into this?
Ames grimaced, though his own magic stirred around his shaking hands.
Flames sparked from the king’s mouth as he growled.Let it be known for all witnesses, you would rather Advanth slaughter our isles than raise your blades against her?
Kherathi tilted his head. It was the same move he made right before he cleaned the chessboard on the lazy afternoons when he’d actually granted Tenah attention.
